| | Hell Comes to Xbox Town
By now everyone has heard about the console-specific exclusive characters that Namco is including with Soul Calibur® II, the eagerly awaited second installment of one of the greatest console fighters yet developed. And, unless you’ve been trapped in some kind of mysterious ringworld fighting the Covenant for the last year or so, you’ve heard which character is coming to Xbox: Spawn, the comic book creation of Todd McFarlane.
What’s an anti-superhero like Spawn doing in a fighting game likeSoul Calibur II? In short, kicking all kinds of booty. Spawn is easily the most playable of the three exclusive characters and looks hellishly stunning in either of his two costumes. Spawn, along with better graphics and the inclusion of Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound make the Xbox incarnation of Soul Calibur II the sequel to beat.
The Hellspawn
Who is Spawn, anyway, and what makes him an appropriate choice forSoul Calibur II? In case you missed the movie, animated HBO series, and comics, here are a few of the important (or just plain cool) Spawn facts:
- Spawn was once Al Simmons, a good man with a shady job who led a double life. To all outside appearances, Al was a happy family man with a beautiful wife and little girl, but at work, Simmons was the government’s most talented undercover assassin. That all came to an end when Al’s boss, Jason Winn, betrayed him and ordered a man Simmons thought was a friend to kill him.
- Simmons woke up as the Hellspawn, with no memory of his life or how he got there. Over the course of some of the most-read comics of the ‘90s, it was revealed that Simmons had struck a bargain with the Devil himself to return to Earth. But, bargains with the Dark One being what they are, Al got more than he bargained for. Now he is the Hellspawn, but he’s held onto his humanity through sheer will. That means both Heaven and Hell pretty much want him out of the picture, since he won’t follow orders. As if that wasn’t bad enough, his old life is lost to him, since his wife and kid can’t get over his new demonic visage.
- Spawn can draw on his own powers to fight, but also relies heavily on his costume, which is alive. The costume protects Spawn from bullets and blades and, in a pinch, can even fight for him when he’s not able to.
- On the Xbox, Spawn also carries a mighty big battle-ax named Agony. He can float for short periods and also packs a devastating projectile attack that makes Spawn an excellent character for newbies and veterans alike.
- Since his creation, Spawn has been running on a finite power meter, something that prevents him from using all of his considerable hellish magic at once. This dramatic device transfers perfectly to a fighting game, where power meters have been a fact of two-fisted life since the arcade days.
- Namco and McFarlane are getting along so well that there’s also a third-person Spawn action game coming soon, with even more weapons, hell powers, and Spawn-y goodness.
So Spawn’s Great, But …
Spawn isn’t the only reason Soul Calibur II on Xbox stands head and pointy armor-covered shoulders above the rest. The graphics for each system have been developed specifically for that hardware, and since the Xbox has got the most graphical power, the game simply looks sharper and better on this system.
Xbox is also the only incarnation of Soul Calibur II to receive full Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound support, which really makes a difference in terms of immersion, fun, and even gameplay. The crisp, distinctive sound effects can give you warning of an impending attack, offer a visceral aural impact when you land a particularly satisfying string of combos, and help distinguish each arena. 
SCII on the Xbox is seriously high calibur.
Made for the Xbox
The original Soul Calibur was one of the biggest hits ever on the late, lamented Dreamcast system, and one of the reasons was the way Namco had so effectively made use of the distinctive shape and layout of the DC controller. Whichever type of Xbox controller you prefer, you can’t deny the basic similarity to the one on the Dreamcast, which means Xbox gamers with old-school Soul Calibur experience can pick up the game and start playing almost immediately. The larger face on the Xbox controller makes it much easier to string together hits for combos and make accurate choices.
Soul Calibur II looks like it will be another stunning addition to the growing Xbox library of graphically intense fighters. The sound, game control, graphics, and exclusives make this one a no-brainer.
But, whatever you do, don’t buy your copy from the clown. I have it on good authority he’s not an authorized retailer, and the price might be more than you’re willing to pay … By Ben Barker |
